


No Strings

by Sassywrites77



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Implied Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-07 01:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassywrites77/pseuds/Sassywrites77
Summary: Luke and Reader try the no strings relationship. The first chapter is based off  "I let him climb inside my body and held him captive in my kiss." Hurricane by Halsey , and then it became a mini-series.





	1. No Strings

You'd overheard Emily's assessment of Luke on her first day back when she said he had problems with commitment. Sure, Roxy seemed to be the only long term female in his life, but you quickly became friends. You started hanging out with each other on the weekends. Then the flirty comments to each other started. You could tell the team often wondered if the two of you were together, but it was all in good fun.

That is until one night out with the group having drinks, and the topic of conversation turned to friends with benefits. Everyone seemed to have had those particular benefits at one time in their lives, even Spencer which came to a shock to everyone except JJ. You seemed to be the only one that had never participated in that kind of relationship. Not that you were a prude, far from it as a matter of fact. You'd just never been friends or known anyone you would want to have that arrangement with. No one gave you a hard time about it, just looked kind of surprised, then moved on to a different topic.

Later, as you and Luke shared a cab (he always made sure you made it home when you went out) he brought up the subject again.

"You've really never had a friends with benefits arrangement?"

You replied rolling your eyes, "Yeah Luke, I have. I just decided to tell everyone else I hadn't even though they all have."

"A simple no would have been fine, Y/N," he said with a sigh. Then paused a moment before he asked, "Would you ever consider it?" Something in his voice made you glance over at him. He looked as if he was expectantly waiting for your answer.

You licked your lips and noticed his eyes were glued to your mouth. You swallowed hard and said, "If I found the right person, yeah I would consider it."

Just then the cab stopped at your apartment building. You asked Luke if he wanted to come up to your apartment, and he nodded, throwing some cash at the driver and following you out of the cab. You could feel the tension building between you as you made your way up the stairs to your floor. You entered your apartment with Luke close behind you. You barely closed the door before he was kissing you. He pulled away for just a moment and said, "No strings, right?"

"No strings," you replied back then pushed him back into the door as you kissed him. You pressed your body against his and next thing you knew, he'd turned you pressing you against the door.

His hands settled at your waist before sliding a hand under the back of your shirt then into the waistband of your jeans pulling you closer to him. You pulled away, then took his hand, leading him to your bedroom.

\-----

The next morning you woke up alone which didn't surprise or bother you. Last night had been some of the best sex in your life. It probably hadn't been a great idea to sleep with your co-worker, but as long as you could be adults about it, everything should be fine. You both went into it with the same expectations after all.

You got out of bed and went to make coffee. You noticed your bag was on the kitchen counter. Luke must have placed it there when he left because you were pretty sure you'd dropped it at the door when he kissed you. He had amazing, kissable lips. You were hoping this wouldn't be a one time thing so you could see what else those lips were good at.

You pulled your phone out of your bag so you could charge it and saw that Luke had sent you a text.

**Sorry I had to go. Roxy, ya know? And I didn’t want to wake you.**

**It's fine. I figured. Netflix later?"**

**Can't tonight. I have a date.**

Hmm, you thought. He hadn't mentioned a date to you. He was such a commitment phobe, he probably wanted distance in case you "fell for him" last night or something. You rolled your eyes and replied.

**Ok. See ya at work Monday.**

\------

On Monday you walked into the office wondering if Luke would still be acting strangely. You took a seat at your desk which was across from him. He nodded in your direction as a greeting. You said hi to him, then smirking to yourself asked, "So how was your date Saturday night?"

Luke just muttered that it was okay. You decided to let it go for now, but the two of you were going to have to talk about what happened. You worked with profilers for fuck sake. They would notice the difference in how the two of you were acting.

You sat down at your desk and pulled out your phone shooting him a text.

**No strings, right?"

You watched as he read your text, his head jerking up to look at you. You gave him a smile which he returned. He turned his attention back to his phone and a moment later yours dinged.

**That's right. Wanna plan to hang out one night this week?**

**Sure.**

\------

You didn't get to hang out that week because the BAU was called out on a case that lasted the whole week. Even though you were busy with the case most of the time, everything between you and Luke seemed to be back to normal. It was late when the jet finally landed, and everyone was tired. You made the comment that you were too tired to drive so Luke asked if you wanted to just ride with him. He said you could stay overnight, and he would take you to pick up your car at the office the next morning. You were so tired you just nodded and followed him to his car. 

You settled in the passenger seat and next thing you knew, Luke was shaking you awake outside of his apartment. You stumbled out of his car almost falling as you closed the door still half asleep. Luke came around wrapping his arm around your waist to support you. Once upstairs, you headed for the couch knowing he only had the one bedroom.

"Y/N, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying not to wake up too much. Shhh."

Luke chuckled and grabbed your hand. "Come on. There's no reason we can't share my bed. We're both tired."

Not wanting to argue you followed along behind him. Too tired and sleepy to care, you started stripping off your clothes leaving only your underwear and the tank top you had on underneath your shirt. You left your clothes in a pile next to the bed, flipping the covers back and climbing in. You thought you heard Luke laugh again, then felt the mattress give under his weight as he joined you. Moments later, you were sound asleep.

\-----

The next morning you woke up wrapped in a warm embrace. You blinked a few times before remembering being so tired you had went home with Luke. You went to move and his arms tightened around you. You gave a little shove and said, "If you don't let go, I'll pee on you. I have to go bad."

You were immediately released and wiggled out from under the covers making a hasty exit to the bathroom. Moments later you returned and dove back under the covers. It was chilly outside of the bed. Luke laughed at you but opened his arms so you could snuggle close for the warmth.

Pretty soon your bodies were completely pressed together, then his hands started rubbing your back. Next thing you knew you were on top of him. One thing you could say about friends with benefits, the sex with Luke was great.

The two of you continued your arrangement for the next few months. You still hung out and did the non-sex things you did before. There were just some times that the things you did included sex also. You had both agreed though, that if either of you met someone they wanted to date regularly, you would go back to just friends.

Luke seemed to want to point this out to you on several occasions, that it was just sex. You were sure he was hung up on how people think women can't have a strictly sex relationship, but sometimes it sounded like he was reminding himself that it was a temporary thing.

This really seemed to become clear when you met Nick. The team had worked a case locally, and you'd met Nick at the police department the BAU was helping. He had asked you out after the case was over. You'd said yes not really thinking it would turn into more than one date. But one turned to two, then three. You found you really enjoyed his company. 

After the third date, you'd told Luke that you thought you wanted to pursue a relationship with Nick. He looked a little taken aback at your announcement but quickly recovered. He said that he understood and that it had been fun.

You continued to date Nick but would still try to hang out with Luke like you used to. It seemed to work for a while, but then Luke seemed to change the subject everytime Nick's name would could up. When you received texts from Nick at work, you would catch Luke staring at you almost with a look of longing.

Finally one day when you were hanging out binging another show on Netflix, things came to a head. Nick texted you while you were in the middle of watching Iron Fist. You texted back and forth a few times, Luke sighing every other time you would reply to a text. Finally you threw your phone down beside you and asked him what the hell his problem was.

"We're supposed to be watching this together, Y/N. But you probably don't even know what happened in the last ten minutes. Because you've been texting HIM."

He said "him" with such disdain you glared at him. "I'm sorry I want to text my boyfriend right now. He's been out of town for training this past week, but understood we had already made plans to hang out before I knew he would be back home today. It was just a couple of text, Luke. I'm pretty sure you've texted people during our binge sessions. So get the stick out of your ass, or I'll just leave."

"Maybe you should leave. All you're doing is talking to him anyway. And when you aren't talking to him, you're talking about him. Constantly. Is he really okay with you hanging out with me? Does he know we used to fuck?"

You almost slapped him. Your hand was itching to do the job, but you saw so much violence in your job you'd rather not bring it into your personal life. You snatched up your phone and headed for the door. "Fuck you, Luke. You sound jealous right now, and you have absolutely no right to be. You're the one that kept saying no strings, just sex. You! And now you're acting like this? I should have known this wouldn't work out. Look, I don't want to lose our friendship, so when you can stop being a complete and utter ass, give me a call."

And with that you slammed out of his apartment leaving him standing there, mouth hanging open and not really sure what had just happened.


	2. What Were We Thinking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I heard Under You by Nick Jonas after people started asking for a part 2, and it gave me the idea for this. Mostly this lyric "I was so foolish on some stupid shit, Should have never let you go no, no, Knowing that you left messes with my head, Shadows of you haunt me now"
> 
> Warnings: So much angst. Language. Drinking to cope.

Luke's PoV

After Y/N left, Luke sank down on the couch wondering how he could have fucked this up so badly. Roxy sensing her owner's mood lay next to him, head on his lap. Absentmindedly he stroked her head, but he didn't get much comfort from it. God, why couldn’t he have just let Y/N text her boyfriend. Having her as a friend was better than not having her in his life at all. Well, there was still work. Ugh! Work! How were they going to work side by side with this rift between them? The team would probably notice immediately. He guessed he would find out in a couple of days.

On Monday morning, Luke walked into work looking a little worse for wear. Y/N was sitting at her desk and chose to ignore Luke as he sat down at his own. No one else had come into the office yet so he decided to try to talk to her.

"Y/N, can we talk before anyone else gets here?" he asked.

After getting no response Luke said, "Y/N, please."

She looked up at him then, glaring at him. "What, Luke? I think I said everything I needed to say the other day. But don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior so no one knows what an ass you were."

Luke sighed. "Y/N, I'm really sorry about this weekend. You were right. I was a complete jerk-"

"Ass," she said, interrupting him.

"Ass. I was a complete ass. I hope we can still be friends. I hate to think I destroyed our friendship."

She started to respond, but just then Penelope and Tara walked in. She spoke to both of them then looked down at her cell phone. Thinking she'd received a text from Nick, Luke turned his attention to Tara and Penelope asking how their weekend was. A moment later he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked to see that it was a message from Y/N.

_I need some time Luke. I don't want to not be friends, but you hurt me with what you said. So just give me some time._

Luke glanced up to see her looking at him and gave a slight nod to indicate he understood.

\-----

Reader PoV

Over the next few months, you and Luke slowly became friends again. You were back to talking to each other, though joking around with each other seemed forced, at least to you anyway. When you hung out together it was in a group, never just the two of you anymore. There was still a strain in the relationship because you were holding a part of yourself back from him. You felt you couldn't share that one part of your life with him. And Nick was a very important part of your life.

You knew your co-workers had noticed, but they had been surprisingly quiet for the most part. Penelope had asked what had happened, and you just told her you were spending more time with Nick which meant less time with Luke. She didn't seem to quite believe you but accepted your answer. You still cared for Luke. He had been your best friend, but you had went and complicated things by sleeping with him. The two of you had been stupid to think that would work out well. You missed him even though you saw him almost everyday. But you just weren't sure you'd ever get back to the way things were.

\------

Luke's PoV

It had been eight months now since the big fight. At least she'd started talking to him again, but it just wasn't the same. He'd finally confessed to Emily. He hadn't planned on it, but on a recent case, they had shared a room. Y/N had immediately asked Tara to be her roomie. Walker and Rossi had paired up, and JJ and Spencer were sharing a room. Which left the last room for Emily and Luke. Of course she asked why Y/N had chosen Tara when in the past she would have roomed with him.

At first, he just told her she didn't want to do anything to upset Nick. It made sense. What guy wants their girlfriend sharing a room with another guy? Unfortunately, Luke still grimaced anytime he thought of Y/N with Nick. And of course Emily picked up on it. She kept pressing in her way she had until he finally confessed the whole thing. How they had started the friends with benefits pact. Her calling it off when she started dating Nick, and the fight they'd had.

Emily wasn't upset that they had broken the rules because it hadn't really interfered with them doing their jobs. She was sad to find out that they weren't the friends they once were. She did ask if he had been dating at all, and when he said no, she suggested it might help him to move on.

After they'd returned from that trip, he had attempted to date, but it just didn't do anything for him. He didn't get why this was so hard for him. Yeah they were friends and having sex, but they weren't romantically involved with each other really. Why couldn't he move passed it? He remembered Y/N accusing him of being jealous, but that couldn't be it. He was just upset because his friend wasn't hanging out with him as much anymore, right?

He realized how stupid he was when a few weeks later, Y/N came in with a diamond ring on her finger and announcing Nick had proposed. He was absolutely floored. He tried to smile and congratulate her, but inside he felt empty. He was actually grateful the team was called for a case so he could have a distraction from thinking about Y/N now being engaged. The case only lasted a few days with team getting back in the middle of the day. They were all tired and went their separate ways instead of going back to the office.

Once home, all Luke could think about was Y/N being engaged. Then he started thinking of their time together. Then he started to drink. And drink. And drink. And then he decided to be even more stupid. He showed up at Y/N's apartment completely smashed, banging on her door.

\------

Reader PoV

Y/N threw open the door after looking through the peephole and seeing Luke.

"What the fuck, Luke?" you asked angrily, trying to keep your voice down so as not to attract attention from the neighbors.

"You can't marry him, Y/N," Luke said, slurring his words. That's when you realized he was drunk.

"Oh for fuck sake. Really, Luke? You better be glad Nick isn't here," you said, seethingly. You sighed and grabbed his arm pulling him into your apartment not caring when he stumbled across the threshold and almost fell on his face. It would serve him right, showing up like this.

"So Nick isn't here, huh? He proposed but doesn't stay with you? Wait, he still doesn't know we-"

You cut him off quickly. "So help you if you were about to say what I think you were. I would think twice if I were you Luke. And for your information, not that I feel the need to explain my relationship to you, Nick is working the late shift this week. Now sit down while I call someone to come get you because you are not staying here."

You picked up your phone trying to decide who to call. You had never told anyone at work about your and Luke's relationship. You were about to call Spencer, figuring he would be most likely to keep quiet, when Luke said, "Call Emily. She knows about us."

"Emily? Our boss, Emily?! Are you-? Why does she know, Luke?"

"I told her. When we had to share the room during the case in Tucson," he said accusingly as if to say it was your fault since you chose Tara to room with. "She knew something was up."

"You could have lied. You didn't have to tell her the truth."

"It's fine. She doesn't care as long as it doesn't interfere with work. And you want me to lie? What, like you? Why haven't you told your fiance about us? Does it mean more than you want to let on?"

You decided to ignore him before you did something you'd regret. You pulled up Emily's number and pressed send. She answered on the first ring.

"Hey Emily. I'm sorry to bother you, but can you come get Luke? He's at my apartment, showed up here drunk."

Emily sighed and said she would be right over. You ended the call and threw your phone down on the table. You looked at Luke who was watching you carefully. You sat in silence for several minutes.

"Why, Luke? Why are you here?" you asked, exasperated at this point. The two of you had been so close, and you were coming to the sad realization that you'd never be the best friends you used to be.

"I just..I was thinking about us. About what we had. I miss you, Y/N. I think..." he stopped himself from whatever he was about to say.

"I miss our friendship too, Luke. But why can't I be engaged and us still be friends? Just because we had that stupid friends with benefits thing, it shouldn't mean we can't be friends."

"Was that all it was to you? Just fucking?" he asked, cringing at his own wording.

"That's what it was supposed to be, remember? You're the one who constantly reminded me that it was just sex. Nothing more."

"I was wrong, Y/N. I was stupid, and I was wrong. I...fuck it. I love you, Y/N. That's why I can't stand the thought of you and Nick. I love you," Luke said softly.

You stared at him but was saved from having to respond as you heard a knock on the door. You opened it to Emily, who looked at you with concern. You thanked her for coming and led her to the couch where Luke was sitting. He was looking at you despondently. You looked away and helped Emily get him to his feet.

"I can walk," he snapped, pulling away from both of you. He walked to the door and waited while you spoke to Emily.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you about us. It didn't seem necessary once we ended it," you said to her.

"Y/N, taking tonight into account, it seems it might have been necessary. So far the two of you have not let it interfere with work. As long as that continues, it's fine. But the two of you need to talk to each other. I'm not coming if he shows up here again. You need to deal with your shit. There's obviously more to you and Luke than you seem to want to admit."

And with that she and Luke were gone. You sank down on the couch, head in your hands wondering when life had gotten so complicated.


	3. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Angst, Decisions are made.

"You've been really distant lately."

"What?" you asked Nick.

Nick picked up the remote and clicked the TV off as he repeated, "You've been really distant lately, Y/N. What's going on with you?"

You turned to face him seeing the confusion and concern on his face. You realized that the entire time you had been watching TV, you hadn't really been paying attention. You'd been staring into space, mind wandering. You'd been doing that a lot lately. Ever since Luke had turned up at your doorstep drunk, professing his love for you. It had been several weeks since that happened, and even though Emily had said you needed to talk to Luke, you had been avoiding it. What were you supposed to say? You loved Nick, right? Nick....oh yeah, he was waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, Nick. Work has just been really busy lately, back to back cases. And this last one was a tough one," you told him. It wasn't a lie; work had been busy. It's just that THAT wasn't what you'd been thinking about.

Nick seemed to accept your reason, pulling you over so that you could lay your head in his lap. He stroked your hair and rubbed you back which just made you feel guilty. He still didn't know about you and Luke. At this point, it seemed awkward to try to talk to him about it. Then again, you were engaged. Maybe he deserved to know. Luke seemed to think it was important. He'd brought it up twice now.

You opened your mouth to tell Nick, really you did but instead said, "I think I'm going to go on to bed. I'm just feeling really tired tonight."

You sat up, gave Nick a quick kiss, then hopped up from the couch and headed to the bedroom. You could have sworn you heard NIck sigh as you left the room.

\-------

A few days later, you weren't given a choice anymore. You had been avoiding Luke as much as possible, but that day he caught up with you outside the restroom. Well, technically you literally ran into him as you were leaving the restroom. He caught you by the arms as you ran smack into his chest with an "oof." 

You looked up into his eyes and could see the hurt there. Biting your lip, trying to think of what to say to him, you glanced to your right and saw Nick standing there. He stood there, take out bag in hand, smile sliding from his face as he looked at the two of you.

He turned and started to walk away. You quickly pulled away from Luke hurrying after Nick. You caught up to him outside of the elevator. He wouldn't even look at you as he reached out to press the button. You put your hand on his wrist to stop him before he pressed it.

"Nick, I know what you think you just saw, but trust me, there is nothing going on between Luke and me." 

"You mean not anymore, right, Y/N?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Because judging by the way Luke was looking at you just now, there was definitely something between the two of you."

You started to respond but Nick cut you off. "No, don't bother lying anymore Y/N. I don't know when the two of you were together, but if you had just told me... I would have probably been a little upset because you do still work with the guy, but I think I could have looked past it. But you hid it from me, Y/N, and that makes me think you still have feelings for him. Why else would you hide it from me for this long? We're engaged. I feel like I should have known about this before now."

He took a deep breath and pressed the button to call the elevator. This time you didn't stop him. You just stood in silence, chewing your bottom lip, trying to think of what to say. The elveator dinged, doors opening. As he stepped on the elevator, Nick turned to you and said, "I do love you, Y/N. But you need to decide if you love me or him. If you can tell me it's just me, maybe we can move pass this. Right now I need some time. I won't be at your place when you get home tonight. Please don't come to me until you are sure what exactly it is you want."

With that he was gone, the last look on his face one of defeat. You turned and saw Luke standing there. You did not need this shit right now. You did an about face and rushed off in the opposite direction of Luke not really sure where you were going until you landed in Emily's office.

She looked up from her desk and with one look at your face, she turned and pulled the Tequila she kept stored in the cabinet behind her desk. You closed the door and sat down. "I really fucked everything up, Em."

Emily sighed while pouring the tequila into two cups. She passed one to you, drinking hers and saying, "Yes, Y/N, you have fucked things up. You still haven't talked to Luke have you?"

"No, but that's not all. Nick just stopped by and saw Luke and I together," you paused rushing to add, "Not like that," when you noticed Emily raising her brows.

"Not like that," you repeated. "Not that it matters because it is exactly what it looked like to Nick. Luke had grabbed my arms to keep me from falling. I think he was going to say something but then I saw Nick standing there. Emily, what the hell have I done?"

Emily looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes at you. "So not only have you not talked things through with Luke, but you've also not told Nick that you and Luke had a thing?"

You looked at Emily sheepishly before glancing away. "Um...no. I haven't told Nick about us."

Emily sighed but before she could say anything, you said, "I know. I know! I've really fucked things up...and I don't know how to fix it. I think I still have a chance with Nick. He said he thought we could work things out, but he needed time. He...he said I need to decide if I love him or Luke. I mean obviously I love Nick. We're engaged after all. What?" you asked when you saw look Emily was giving you.

"Just because you're engaged to the man doesn't necessarily mean you love him. People get engaged then break up all the time. You really need to think about this, Y/N. Do you really love Nick? And you need to think about your relationship with Luke. You two were such close friends before all of this. He, uh, he told me what he said to you that night, that he loves you."

You didn't say anything, just sat staring at your lap where your hands were figeting. Emily sighed again and said, "Go home, Y/N. We don't have a case right now. Maybe you should take a day or two. If we get a case, I'll call you."

Not wanting to press her since she was actually being quite understanding about everything, you stood up thanking her. Leaving her office, you headed to the bullpen. Quickly checking that none of your co-workers were around, you grabbed up your bag and headed to the elevators.

\-------

You didn't go straight home, instead deciding a walk might help clear your head. You drove to a nearby park leaving everything but your work phone in your car and heading to a trail near your car.

As you started down the trail, you thought back on your conversation with Emily. You wondered how much Luke had told Emily. Probably everything if he told her he loved you.

You shook that thought from your head. Surely he was just jealous and didn't really have feelings for you. You did miss the friendship you'd had with him before all of this. He had been your closest friend; you told him everything. Though neither of you had dated often, you shared what little dating stories you had with each other, often ending in laughter because of the ridiculous way people can act on dates at times. You did love Luke, but you weren't sure you loved him the same way he thought he loved you.

You sighed and sat down on a large boulder at the side of the trail. Your walk had led you to a stream so you sat a few minutes enjoying the sound of the water rushing over the rocks before turning your thoughts to your fiance, Nick. He was a good man, so caring. You knew he loved you; he showed you in so many ways. Obviously today he had planned to have lunch with you. Did you love him though?

Until today, you had been sure you did. He made you happy, but then before you met Nick, you had been happy hanging out with Luke. Before all of the sex stuff came into play, the two of you had fun together.

"Uuuugghhh."

You let out a frustrated groan as you jumped to your feet and got back on the trail. You let your thoughts drift between the two men as you walked faster down the path. Soon you had broke into a run almost as if you were trying to run away from it all.

You ran, not really paying attention to where the trail was going until you realized you were coming back to the stream. You came to a stop, huffing and puffing, hands on knees. You again sat on the boulder closing your eyes.

When you opened them, you knew who you had chosen, who you loved. You wanted to go to them right away but decided considering your run, you might want to shower first. You rushed back to your car and headed for home.

\------

Once you'd showered, you headed back out hoping you would find him at home. You walked up to his door and knocked, waiting not so patiently for the door to open. When it did, you smiled at the man in front of you and said, "I love _you_. Will you still have me?"


	4. All the Strings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finale

"I love _you._ Will you still have me?"

He opened the door all the way and waved you in. You walked in and sat on his couch clasping your hands together on your lap. You fidgeted nervously waiting for him to say something.

He came to sit beside you. "Are you sure, Y/N?"

In response you nodded and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his lips. When you pulled away, you said, "I'm sure, Luke. I love you. And to be up front, I haven't officially told Nick yet. I had to come see you first."

Luke just nodded, staring at you as though he couldn't believe you were actually here in front of him. He placed his hand over yours which were still fidgeting in your lap. "I love you, Y/N. I want to say it to you again while I'm completely sober. I'm so sorry I showed up to your house drunk. I was such an ass."

"Luke, it's fine. I guess I was being an ass too. I didn't know why but for some reason I just didn't want to admit I had feelings for you. I think I did..do care for Nick, but today I realized I don't care for him the way I care for you. Speaking of him, I guess I need to go talk to him."

Luke started to protest, but you stopped him with another kiss before saying, "I promise I'll be back. You won't get rid of me easily now."

Luke stood, then helped you to your feet. He walked you to the door, pulling you to him once more. He kissed you again, this time as though he was afraid you wouldn't be back. "Want me to come with you?"

You gave Luke a look that said he clearly wasn't thinking straight. "If I were breaking things off with you, would you really want the other guy there?"

Luke sighed. "You have a point. Just...come back to me. No matter how late it is after you talk to him. Come back to me."

You smiled and gave him one last kiss. "Of course."

\---------

Several minutes later, you found yourself knocking on another door. You just wanted to get it over with and get back to Luke. You were excited to explore this new relationship with him. But Nick deserved better than what you had given him. You were trying to decide how to begin when the door opened.

"Hi, Nick. Can I come in?" You asked, biting your lip nervously. You weren't scared of him. Nick was a great guy, but you were really nervous about telling him your decision. You felt bad because you knew you were causing him pain.

He waved you in, and the two of you went into the kitchen. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

You hated to take anything more from him, even a drink, but your mouth suddenly felt parched. "A water, please."

Once he handed you a water, he sat at the table across from you. "I'm guessing you aren't here with good news for me," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Nick. You deserve better. You deserve someone who loves you the way a fiance should love you."

"The way you love him, you mean."

You glanced away, then back to him. "Yes," you said. You felt as though you'd had to push the word out. "I'm so sorry for hurting you, Nick."

"At least you finally admit it. How long-- Never mind. I don't want to know. Just go."

You wanted to comfort him, which was clearly not something he wanted from you at this moment. You pulled the engagement ring out of your pocket where you'd placed it earlier. You placed it on the table in front of him as you stood up. 

"I know my apology means nothing, but I truly am sorry for the hurt I caused you. I know there is some lucky woman out there waiting for you. I wish you the best. Goodbye, Nick."

With those words you were out the door. You felt bad for not feeling worse. It was hard to be sad when you knew you had Luke waiting on you.

A smile crept to your lips as you started your car. It had only been, what an hour or less since you'd last seen Luke, but you couldn't wait to get back to him.

\--------

_Five months later_

"Congratulations, you two," Emily said as she held up her glass of champagne.

You and Luke smiled at each other and kissed. You were having an engagement dinner with your team at Rossi's as he had insisted that he would make dinner for everyone.

Luke had proposed during a few days when you all had time off. When you came back sporting a new engagement ring, Rossi pronounced a celebration was in order that evening as long as a case didn't come in.

So here you were with the man you loved and your family away from family. You'd never have thought that when you entered into a friends with benefits relationship with Luke, a little over a year later you'd be engaged.

For the past five months, it seemed you and Luke had been making up for the time you had lost. When you weren't at work or out of town on a case, you were with each other. The other BAU members had teased you both mercilessly about being together all the time.

You didn't care though. They could tease you for the rest of your life. You were with the man you loved, and that man loved you just as much. Yes, you were both still in that mushy, lovey dovey stage, and probably nauseated all those around, but so be it. There were sure to be tough times ahead, there always were. You couldn't wait to begin the journey of ups and downs with Luke.


End file.
